Solve for $p$. $-5\left(p+\dfrac35\right) = -4$
Answer: Let's divide and then subtract to get $p$ by itself. $\begin{aligned}-5\left(p+\dfrac35\right) &= -4 \\ \\\\ \dfrac{-5\left(p+\dfrac35\right)}{{-5}} &= \dfrac{-4}{{-5}} ~~~~~~~\text{divide each side by } {-5}\\ \\ \dfrac{\cancel{-5}\left(p+\dfrac35\right)}{\cancel{{-5}}} &= \dfrac{-4}{{-5}} \\ \\ p +\dfrac35&= \dfrac{-4}{{-5}} \end{aligned}$ $\begin{aligned} p +\dfrac35&= \dfrac45 \\ \\ p+\dfrac35 {-\dfrac35}&= \dfrac45{-\dfrac35}~~~~{\text{subtract }\dfrac35} \text{ from each side} \text{ to get } p \text{ by itself }\\ \\ p+\cancel{ \dfrac35} {{-}\cancel{{\dfrac35}}}&= \dfrac45{-\dfrac35}\\ \\ p &=\dfrac45{-\dfrac35}\end{aligned}$ The answer: $p={\dfrac15}$ Let's check to make sure. $\begin{aligned} -5\left(p+\dfrac35\right) &= -4 \\\\ -5\left({\dfrac15}+\dfrac35\right) &\stackrel{?}{=} -4 \\\\ -5\left(\dfrac45\right)&\stackrel{?}{=} -4 \\\\ -4 &= -4 ~~~~~~~~~~\text{Yes!} \end{aligned}$